The Lake's Best Player

Jordan adjusted his cap, sweat already beading on his forehead. Varsity baseball tryouts were tomorrow, and Coach Miller had made it clear: only the strong survive. But right now, standing at the edge of Miller's Creek while his teammates dared each other to jump in, Jordan had bigger problems than his batting average.

"You coming, bro?" Tyler called from the water, already waist-deep and grinning like he'd just hit a home run. "Or you scared of a little swimming?"

The rest of the team laughed. Jordan's phone buzzed in his pocket — probably his mom asking about dinner, or maybe Maya finally texting back. He'd been waiting three days for her to respond to his attempt to ask her to the summer kickoff party. Three days of staring at his iphone like it held the secrets to the universe.

"I'm good," Jordan said, even though his throat felt like sandpaper. "Someone's gotta watch your stuff."

"Bro's playing bodyguard now?" This from Chris, the sophomore who'd been trying to earn his spot on varsity since freshman year. "How noble."

Jordan forced a laugh. What they didn't know — what nobody knew — was that he couldn't swim. Not really. Could doggy paddle enough not to die, maybe, but definitely not "casually hang out with the cool kids in the creek" swim. His dad had left before teaching him. His mom worked two jobs and barely had time for grocery shopping, let alone swimming lessons.

And now, six weeks before high school ended, he was still hiding it like it was some dark secret instead of just another thing he didn't know how to do.

Then Tyler's face changed. "Yo, anyone hear that?"

They all froze.

From the trees on the far bank came a low, guttural sound. Not a dog. Not a cat.

A bear.

It stepped into view, massive and surprisingly quiet, sniffing the air. Then it looked right at them, right at the piles of clothes and shoes and phones left carelessly on the grass.

Jordan's heart hammered. The bear was maybe thirty feet away, moving slowly but purposefully toward their stuff. Toward Tyler's iphone, toward Chris's AirPods, toward Jordan's phone with that unanswered text from Maya still on the screen.

"What do we do?" Chris whispered, water dripping from his chin. "We can't — we can't just—"

Jordan didn't think. He just moved, feet pounding across grass, arms pumping, baseball cap flying off. He grabbed everything — phones, shoes, the whole pile — and threw himself backward just as the bear reached the spot where they'd been.

"DUDE!" Tyler shouted from the water. "You're — you're actually insane!"

The bear huffed, confused, then lumbered back toward the trees. Jordan lay there, chest heaving, clutching three phones and a pair of expensive sneakers.

His own phone lit up with a notification.

Maya: Sorry, I was grounded! Yes, I'd love to go 😊

Jordan stared at the screen, then up at his teammates still standing in the creek, watching him like he'd just performed some kind of magic trick. Tyler whooped. Chris shook his head, grinning.

"Bro," Tyler said, "you're literally not human. That bear could've mauled you and you just—"

"Someone had to get your stuff," Jordan said, standing up and realizing his legs were shaking. "Would've been tragic if you couldn't post about almost dying."

They laughed. They actually laughed.

And for the first time all year, Jordan didn't feel like he was faking it. Maybe he couldn't swim, maybe he had no idea what he was doing half the time, maybe growing up was just one long series of near-death experiences and awkward conversations. But sometimes, sometimes you did something right without even trying.

"You coming in or what?" Tyler called.

Jordan looked at the water, then at his teammates, then at his phone with Maya's response.

"Nah," he said, grinning. "I think I'll sit this one out. Someone's gotta make sure no other bears try to steal your stuff."

"Jordan's got a point," Chris said, wading toward shore. "I'm freezing anyway. Let's get pizza."

And just like that, it was fine. It was all fine. He was still the kid who couldn't swim, but he was also the kid who faced down a bear for his friends' iphones. Which, honestly, was a way better story anyway.